Perpetual pantry

Camilla Wynne’s preserves and pickles will worm their way into your heart and kitchen

I first encountered the magic of Camilla Wynne halfway through a jar of her strawberry jam. Spoon in hand, I dove again and again into that small glass jar, plucking out tender pieces of strawberry flesh, which seemed to be suspended in a velvety, sun-kissed syrup. I had seen the bottom of that jar, and I had to have more.

Though she’s best known for her sensational preserves, Wynne began her career as a pastry chef, working underneath the famed Patrice Demers at high-end Montreal restaurants like Les Chevres and Laloux. But in more recent months, she’s been focusing solely on her growing independent business, Preservation Society. Wynne sells a fascinating assortment of jams, chutneys and pickles, with an emphasis on seasonal and local ingredients. (She likes to handpick her own apples and pears at remote Quebec orchards).

She’s the inventor behind idiosyncratic flavours like White Grapefruit Marmalade with Vanilla, Pina Colada, Maple-Chili Pickled Onions, and her personal favourite, “Fall Sweater,” a fuzzy, cozy blend of apples, pears, caramel, orange and pumpkin beer. Who wouldn’t want to snuggle up with that?

“I can’t really compete with Heinz or anything like that. I have to make something that’s different, something that no one else is making,” Wynne says. “That’s what makes it worth buying. I recent­ly tried pickling cranberries, just to see what would happen.”

In years past, Wynne brewed jams and pickles at home, making and selling small batches at local events and businesses like General 54, Dépanneur Le Pick Up, Pâtisserie Rhubarbe, Puces POP and Souk@SAT.

“I’ve always loved eating pickles and jams, but the process always seemed so mysterious to me. Once I taught myself how to do it, I realized that there was something super satisfying about seeing my cupboards filling up. You just want to keep making more and more. I was making so many preserves I was like, ‘Well, I guess I better start selling these!” she laughs.

In the fall of 2011, Wynne officially registered herself as an independent company. She moved her operation to La QV, a private wine importation agency that sports a small kitchen and pantry. “I’ve learned so much over the years,” she says. “I’ve really had to streamline what I offer; at first it was just this insane list of stuff and everything was always sold out because I was only making, like, six jars at a time. Now, I have to figure out what’s seasonal, what I do best, what will be original enough to stand out.”

In addition to selling her preserves (you can see updated lists on her website, or book a private consultation), Wynne is also planning to flex her pedagogical muscles with a series of preserves work­shops beginning January 22. (In the fall of 2011, she taught a string of three sold-out canning workshops at Depanneur Le Pick Up). “It’ll be a Sunday afternoon thing at La QV, with tea and cook­ies. We’ll talk about citrus fruit, and make a bunch of marmalades,” she says.

This is not the first time Wynne has been dubbed a Noisemaker. “I was on the cover as a Noisemaker for my band Pony Up! in 2004,” she laughs. “I guess you could say I’m ‘revising’ my appearance this time around.” ★

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